FinderCam: an Alternative to StarSense for Any Telescope

Happy to report a game-changer app for amateur astronomers, FinderCam. Here is an iPhone-iPad iOS app to find objects in the sky. It is used by mounting and aligning your phone to any telescope or binocular.

Applying the well-known plate-solving technology, FinderCam compares the view your scope and phone see with a map of the sky. In this way you can find your way in the sky. The map is set to your location and time and updates every minute.

You can ask it to find an object (star, planet, galaxy) from the extensive built-in catalog. After aligning with three bright stars, a laser-like green guide-path appears on your phone. It gives the direction from your present position to the desired object. Just slew your scope to follow the path to your desired target. Try it out during the day with or without scope by covering the camera on the iPhone. A complete manual is found in the app.

Finally we amateur astronomers now have a way of guiding any scope through the sky.

Astrophotography Tutorials for Beginners on the Irandar Channel of YouTube


Using Astro Software Aids

Finding the New Comet with Stellarium
   • Finding the New Comet with Stellarium  

Finding Your Star with Plate-Solving
   • Finding Your Star with Plate-Solving  

Stellarium: an Introduction
   • Stellarium: an Introduction  

Astro for Beginners: Field of View Calculation for Telescopes
   • Astro for Beginners: Field of View Calcula...  



Cameras with Telescopes

Connecting Cameras to Telescopes for Astrophotography
   • Connecting Cameras to Telescopes for Astro...  

Using a camera with a telescope
   • Using a camera with a telescope  

Using a Smart Phone and Eyepieces with a Telescope
   • Using a Smart Phone and Eyepieces with a T...  

Field of View FOV with camera and telescopes
   • Field of View FOV with camera and telescopes  

Telescopes with a Camera
   • Telescopes with a Camera  

Astrophotography: Getting Focus with a Camera on a Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130
   • Astrophotography: Getting Focus with a Cam...  

Astrophotography for Beginners: Field of View with Three Telescopes
   • Astrophotography for Beginners: Field of V...  

Astrophotography: Understanding Eyepiece Projection
   • Astrophotography: Understanding Eyepiece P...  



Affinity Photo for Astro Processing

Moon Panorama with Affinity Photo
   • Moon Panorama with Affinity Photo  

Astrophotography: Processing Astropix files with Affinity Photo
   • Astrophotography: Processing Astropix file...  

Affinity Photo for astro stacking LRGB files in groups and editing
   • Affinity Photo for astro stacking LRGB fil...  

Learning Astrophotography with Affinity Photo and James Ritson
   • Learning Astrophotography with Affinity Ph...  

Astrophotography for Beginners: Affinity Photo for Stacking and Processing
   • Astrophotography for Beginners: Affinity P...  

Making Star Trails with Affinity Photo
   • Making Star Trails with Affinity Photo  

Viewing the Moon with a 90 Mak Telescope and Affinity Photo
   • Viewing the Moon with a 90 Mak Telescope a...  

How to Find Hubble Telescope Astro Data for Processing with Affinity Photo
   • How to Find Hubble Telescope Astro Data fo...  

   • Learning Affinity Photo with the Milky Way  
Learning Affinity Photo with the Milky Way



Mounts for Telescopes

Intro to the EQ1 Telescope Mount for Beginners in Astrophotography
   • Intro to the EQ1 Telescope Mount for Begin...  

Star Adventurer Mini SAM: Setting Up and Tracking the Sun
   • Star Adventurer Mini SAM: Setting Up and T...  

Guide to the Star Adventurer Mini SAM for Astrophotography
   • Guide to the Star Adventurer Mini SAM for ...  

Astrophotography: Adjusting Your Polarscope
   • Astrophotography: Adjusting Your Polarscope  

The SAM Astrophotography Mount Revisited
   • The SAM Astrophotography Mount Revisited  

Synscan Wifi for astro telescope control
   • Synscan Wifi  for astro telescope control  

SynScan EQ5 Mount Setup and Handcontroller
   • SynScan EQ5 Telescope Mount Setup and Hand...  



Practice Files

Finding astro files to practice processing
   • Finding astro files to practice processing  

How to Find Hubble Telescope Astro Data for Processing with Affinity Photo
   • How to Find Hubble Telescope Astro Data fo...  

Astrophotography: Processing Astropix files with Affinity Photo
   • Astrophotography: Processing Astropix file...  



FinderCam

Introducing FinderCam
   • Introducing FinderCam  

iPhone Mounting on Your Telescope for FinderCam
   • iPhone Mounting on Your Telescope for Find...  

An Alternative to Star Sense: FinderCam
   • An Alternative to Star Sense: FinderCam  

FinderCam an Alternative to StarSense for Any Telescope
   • FinderCam: an Alternative to StarSense for...